Heir of Pendel (A Pandoran Novel, #4)

by Barbara Kloss

  "I'm not sure, yet. There are some things I want to talk to him about."

  "Things, as in Rook?" Thaddeus offered.

  "And I want to find out what he's doing out here."

  "You know Point of Fact is nothing but trouble," he said.

  "So are you, but things have worked out all right thus far."

  Vera chuckled.

  "Fair enough." I heard the smile in Thaddeus's voice. "But he'll need to be watched twenty-four seven. He and Point of Fiction."

  "I know. I'll take first watch," I said.

  Thaddeus eyed me. "Try not to kill him, okay?"

  I gave him a tight smile. "You know I can make no such promises."

  I helped the Nords get Danton, Carter, and Carter's men situated in the center of our camp. Danton and Carter each got their own special stake, while Carter's men shared two between them. After we'd secured everyone, I made my way back toward Danton. He sat hunched forward, head drooping with his arms tied behind him to the stake. None of the Nords encroached on the ring of snow around him. I stepped into this ring and stopped.

  Danton tilted his head a fraction, but he didn't lift his face completely, nor his gaze.

  We'd been friends, once. A long time ago, though it was hard remembering that when for so long the mere thought of him filled me with deep loathing. I'd lost respect for him with how he'd use his position to philander with women. That, I could never tolerate, and that was when our relationship began turning sour. That was when he had morphed into this cocky, sneering bastard. And when I found out King Darius intended him for Daria, the mere sight of him made me want to fight.

  On Hell's Peak, I'd had my moment. It'd felt so good hitting him, albeit brief, but when I saw Meira's body, naked and mutilated and still clinging to his baby, the idea of simply hitting him wasn't enough anymore. I wanted him to suffer a slow and painful death. It surprised me, really—the fervor of my anger. Which was why I was still shocked I'd stepped in back there. All those years of animosity hadn't been able to keep my feet planted, and now seeing him, slumped in humility with his pride tied to that post, I almost felt a twinge of regret. Regret, because I had known Danton before he grew into this bloody coward who waved his title around to get what he wanted from beautiful and impressionable young women, like Meira had been.

  I felt the urge to hit him again, and I flexed my hand at my side to keep myself from doing so.

  "Do you need something, Del Conte, or have you just come to gloat?"

  Danton lifted his head to look at me, his expression hard. I didn't know what infuriated him more: being tied to a post or being my prisoner. Danton watched as I took another step forward and sat down, legs folded before me.

  I rested my elbows on my knees and threaded my hands together. "Actually, I was hoping we could talk."

  "Go ahead, then. It's not like I'm going anywhere."

  We stared at each other a long moment, and then Danton sighed, his head sagging again. "What do you want from me, Alexander?"

  "I want to know what you're doing here."

  "Does it matter?"

  "I'm not sure yet."

  A pause, and then he looked up at me from beneath his brow, his smile twisted. That was the Danton I'd come to know and hate. "I've always known how much you dreamed of having a title, but I'm surprised by what you're willing to do for it."

  "Considering all you've done in the name of yours, I'd think you'd be a little more empathetic."

  His expression turned granite. "Don't judge me for things you could never understand."

  "Wrong is still wrong no matter what the circumstances. Even you must acknowledge that, my equitable lord."

  Fury melted the ice in his eyes. The only thing keeping him from attacking me then was the fact that he was tied to that post.

  "I didn't come here to argue with you, Danton," I said.

  He snorted.

  "I want to know why you're here," I said. "I know your father didn't send you. He'd never send you with so few, and you rarely put yourself in such a vulnerable position—let alone with your brother, who despises you."

  "Perhaps you should tell me why I'm here then, since you seem to know so much."

  I frowned and waited.

  "Fine." His shoulders rose with a deep breath. "I'm looking…for her."

  My eyes narrowed as my chest tightened. "For Daria?"

  He glared up at me. "Who do you think?"

  I studied him, suspicion tickling the corners of my mind. "Why?"

  He sneered bitterly. "Isn't the answer to that a little obvious?"

  "No."

  "No? My prisoner escaped and I went after her. Isn't that what people usually do?"

  "People, yes, but not you and certainly not in this weather. It'd be more like you to just send your men after her while finding some other poor damsel to bed."

  I expected him to be furious, even though I'd spoken truth, but he just shut his eyes and leaned his head back against the pole. I'd never seen him look so weary. A long moment passed, and then he said quietly, "I let her escape."

  Another pause. I leaned forward. "You…let her escape."

  "Yes." A breath. "I crossed paths with her when she was riding away."

  My blood burned. "How in Gaia's name could you let her go? You know Eris is hunting her down. And you know how dangerous it is out there. There are a lot worse creatures than that vidak. She doesn't know her way around this world, Danton, and you let her out in it alone!" I punched a hole in the snow.

  Danton's lips pinched together. Some of the Nords nearby peered over.

  I had to get a grip. I dragged my hands down my face and held my breath, one, two, three seconds. I fisted my hands in my lap, and my next exhale trembled. "And how in the seven territories did she manage to ride off, anyway? Your father's pined for her for you ever since he found out she existed. He'd never let her run away—especially not with the way things stand now."

  Danton's eyelids opened a sliver. "He didn't. He had guards stationed all over the grounds. When my uncle arrived and informed my father of the situation at Castle Regius, my uncle placed magical barriers around her room himself so that she couldn't escape. But somehow your helpless princess managed to evade all of that, as well as a dozen of my father's personal guards, a handful of Morts, and my uncle, Tiernan. I intercepted her crossing Sunder Bridge."

  All of that. Daria had gotten past all of that. "I never said she was helpless," I said.

  "Didn't you now."

  I didn't like the look on his face. "Did she find out what happened to Prince Stefan and King Darius?" I asked. "Is that why she ran away?"

  Danton's thin lips pinched into a line and he swallowed. "Yes."

  So she knew about Stefan and her grandfather. She carried her grief alone in this world. "And you just…let her go." I repeated.

  "Yes."

  "Why?"

  He dropped his head as if it was suddenly too heavy to hold up. "Why, indeed."

  I stared straight at him, and I knew. He cared about her. Danton, who didn't care about anyone but Danton, actually cared for Daria. I wasn't sure how I felt about this. Did she…had she cared for him back? Danton had his charms, and most women weren't immune to them. I remembered what Lord Cethin had shown me, but I forced down the thought as quickly as it'd come. I couldn’t—wouldn't—worry about that now. Her safety was too important.

  "If you let her go, why are you going after her now?" I asked.

  He waited another breath before answering. "Lord Cethin visited my father a few weeks ago. He reported that he, Myez Rader, and a handful of shadowguard had intercepted her in the wood, but that Myez had betrayed them and taken her away using Eris's amulet. Myez did not take her to King Eris, though. Lord Cethin wanted to know if I knew where she might've gone."

  Myez Rader? How had he come into the fold? Knowing he was with Daria made my anxiety increase ten-fold. I also knew how…persuasive Lord Cethin could be. "What did you tell Lord Cethin?"

  "Not
hing specific, because I had nothing to tell, thank the spirits. Gaia knows he could've drawn it out of me."

  "Daria never mentioned anything to you?" I asked. "Anything at all as to where she might go?"

  He looked straight at me, his lips in a hard line. "To you."

  And that was all Lord Cethin would've needed to know. That was why Lord Cethin had come to Astor. He'd been waiting for me because he thought Daria would be with me.

  "She's not with me," I said. "I haven't seen her since she left me for you."

  Danton searched my face. He looked worried.

  "You're sure Myez didn't take her to Castle Regius?" I asked.

  "Positive. Lord Cethin notified His Majesty of their disappearance, but last I heard, His Majesty hadn't seen them. After Lord Cethin left, I decided to go after her. I told my father I was going to search for her—"

  "And then what?" I snapped. "Take her straight to Eris?"

  "No, if she hadn't made it safely to you, then I…there's a place I know where she would be safe. I didn't…say this to my father, when I left. He assumed I'd be bringing her back."

  "You're a bloody fool if you think she'd be safe anywhere on this cursed planet for very long. And what about you? Were you going to just stick your head in the sand until the war's over, and then pick the winning side?"

  He glared at me. "Is that what you think I am doing?"

  "It's not what I think, Danton. It's what you do. Every bloody time." I drew Nightshade from my waist and stabbed it into the snow so that it stood upright between us. Danton recognized Daria's dagger at once. I didn't know how I felt about that either.

  "Where did you—?" he started.

  "Lord Cethin had it on him," I said. "He was in Astor, waiting for me, I presume. Thanks to your unspecific information. I killed him with it. Or at least I think I did. He vanished into smoke, so I can't be sure."

  Danton blinked at me in shock.

  "Does your father still have the unity stone?" I asked.

  He exhaled slowly. "He did when I left."

  This both relieved and surprised me. "Why hasn't he handed it over?"

  Danton didn't answer immediately. "I'm not sure. Daria said some things to him that…struck deep. Though I can't know if her…influence and persuasion is the sole reason he's held off."

  I held his gaze, and when he didn't elaborate further, I said, "I need to know whose side you're on, Danton. I have about a thousand men, and while they may be Nords, we're still outnumbered at least ten to one. I could use your help, but I don't have time to babysit you or Carter or your friends over there, and I certainly can't spare any of my men to do it for me. So tell me: Whose side are you on?"

  He stared at Daria's dagger for what felt like an eternity. At last, he whispered, "I was going to lower my sword."

  "I know."

  His gaze lifted to mine, and it'd lost its hostility. "I envy you. I always have. You've always been free to act in whatever manner you see fit because you have nothing to lose."

  "You think I have nothing to lose?" I hissed. "I have everything to lose—everything that matters most in this world to me. You think because I'm just an aegis that I somehow have options being a lord prevents you from having. You blame your decisions on the demands of your title, but our circumstances don’t define us as people. Our actions do. Start taking responsibility for yours."

  A muscle worked in his neck and he looked away. Silence stretched between us, and then I plucked Nightshade from the snow and shoved it back in my belt. I placed my hands on my knees and pushed myself to a stand.

  "Meira's dead, by the way. The Halmstads were slaughtered by your uncle and his men. I saw them hanging from the square in Ravenshelm…right beside your daughter."

  Danton paled and he didn't say a word.

  "We're leaving in half an hour," I said. "You can let me know your decision then."

  I started walking away when Danton said, "Alexander."

  I angled myself toward him so that I could see him at the edge of my vision.

  "Did you…did you give them a proper burial?" His words came out in a pained whisper.

  "Yes. Theon helped, but…we lost him too. In Astor." I clenched my teeth to hold back my grief.

  Danton stared at the space before him, his expression haunted. I turned my back on him and walked away.

  38

  DARIA

  Every single day, from dawn until dusk, Nexus took me flying. Actually, flying is the wrong word. To say we went flying implies smiles and laughter and joy, but most of the time Nexus tried throwing me from the saddle while I screamed, thinking I was going to die. There were no smiles or laughter or joy—at least not from my seat. Nexus seemed to be enjoying himself plenty. Sometimes I thought he was disappointed he hadn't thrown me from the saddle during those frequent, unannounced drops. Especially when he said things like, You're too stubborn to die.

  "Yeah, well, I guess it's just one of my virtues."

  Nexus snorted steam. Everyone needs one, I suppose.

  I learned not to be offended when Nexus said these sorts of things, because he said them often. And I didn't think he was joking.

  The one good thing out of it was that my headaches weren't nearly as bad as before. They'd reduced to a dull ache now, every time Nexus spoke in my head. I could do dull ache.

  Then every night, after I returned to the cave, windblown and wobbly from being airborne all day, Myez trained me with wooden swords he'd made. I still had to take it easy on my ankles, but Myez was good—really good. So good, in fact, I wanted to pit him against Alex because I really didn't know who would win. Myez reminded me he'd been a blacksmith in his former life, and considering how much longer Myez had been a student of swordsmanship, this inadvertently spoke to Alex's skills.

  Myez didn't take it easy on me, despite my ankle. He fought with his off hand, and I still earned an impressive amount of bruises that first week, and by the second, I had a series of cuts to match. Nexus allowed me to take a real sword from his treasure trove so Myez and I could "stop practicing with toothpicks." But with all the new cuts I'd received, I sort of wished Nexus had just stayed out of it.

  Also, during that second week, Nexus decided to enlighten me on a new definition of "fire power." He set fire to a small forest with only a burp. It quite literally sounded like a burp, and then an enormous cannonball of flames shot from his jaws and landed on a patch of trees. It coated them like molten lava, dripping over them like frosting and melting them while little flames burst like fissures, until all that was left of the forest was a pool of bright orange. I'd been admiring this lava pool when Nexus flew us straight through a cloud of his flames.

  I shut my eyes just before impact, certain I was going to be burnt alive. There was a blast of hot dry air, as if someone had blown a hair dryer in my face, and then it was gone. I blinked my eyes open and looked back, watching the flames disintegrate behind me. My leathers smoked a little, but I was whole and intact, though I distinctly caught the scent of burnt hair. My hair. A piece of it had caught flame. I used one hand to pat out the fire, ignoring the burns on my palms.

  Nexus snorted.

  "Do that again, and I'll punch you in your third eye," I said.

  Then let's see about that virtue of yours when I fly upside down.

  That night, I returned to camp with hair so badly burnt that, with the help of Myez, we sawed the rest of it off with his dagger. Now my hair fell only to my chin. My hair had never been this short before, and I'd never realized how warm it kept me until now. Every time a breeze lilted through, it grazed against the back of my bare neck and I shivered. It was a lot easier to manage, though—particularly with flying.

  "Is fate unchangeable?" I asked Nexus one afternoon. We'd been practicing a particularly dizzying set of moves, and he'd dropped me off at the edge of a butte so I could take a breather.

  I hadn't forgotten Gaia's words, and as the days came closer and closer to our joining Alex, I thought more and more about wha
t she'd said.

  By definition, that is impossible. If fate were changeable, it would not be fate.

  I sighed, tossing a rock over the edge of the butte, watching the treetops below swallow it.

  Why do you ask?

  I told Nexus about my dream or vision or whatever it was, and how it wasn't the first time I'd seen it.

  "It's just…I don't understand what my choice is or how I'm supposed to be prepared. It seems like…if I fight this world, Alex will die. Does that mean I'm not supposed to fight? But I can't run away. Where would I go? Even if I fled to Earth, somehow, Eris plans to come there, too. I don't know what Gaia is trying to tell me, or if it's even Gaia who's telling me."

  Nexus was quiet for a very, very long time. And just when I thought he wasn't going to reply, he said, Certain fates are tied to certain choices, and Gaia gave you a choice.

  I looked over my shoulder at him. He stared at the horizon.

  "I know that," I said.

  I cannot influence you, just as Gaia cannot influence you.

  I stared at Nexus. "You know something."

  I know many things, my little petulant one, but that does not mean they are yours for hearing.

  "But I'm asking you to help me. If there's anything you know that could help me…help me change what Gaia has predicted…please, I'm begging you. Help me."

  Nexus turned his head so that he was looking down on me with both eyes.

  I cannot. Even if I wanted to, it would be impossible since I am tied to Gaia's will, and she has willed I not aid you in this. You cannot change what she has predicted, and she has left a decision to you. She has chosen you, and it is a conclusion you must reach on your own, otherwise I am perpetuating the wrong that has endured since this world's creation. And I am too close to this world to ever give you an unbiased opinion.

  "But isn't that what makes you the perfect resource to give me advice?"

  No, it is what makes me the worst possible one.

  Nexus was saying so many things without saying anything at all, but try as I might, I couldn't make sense of any of it. And then Nexus ruffled his wings.